AMRITSAR SAHIB, Punjab—Following the order of the Akal Takht Sahib, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) today started Akhand Path Sahib (48-hour long nonstop recitation of Guru Granth Sahib) at Gurdwara Ramsar Sahib here to repent for the massive sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib’s holy saroops, that purportedly took place accidentally five years ago at the publishing house of the gurdwara body.
The accidental sacrilege occurred on May 19, 2016 when the publishing house situated in the building of Gurdwara Ramsar Sahib near Sri Harmandar Sahib (Darbar Sahib) to print the holy saroops caught fire. The apex gurdwara body which was then headed by Avtar Singh Makkar has been claiming that 14 saroops were damaged in the incident, but around a month ago the Punjab Human Rights Organization (PHRO) made a confidential office note of the SGPC public, which states that total 80 saroops were damaged by the fire and fire control operation.
However, the SGPC never conducted an Akhand Path to repent this incident which is considered as another big sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib, before. Raising questions over not repenting it by the SGPC, the PHRO stated that the gurdwara body actually tried its best to downplay this incident and kept the fact of massive damage secret so as to avert deeper resentment against the then SAD-BJP government which was already facing anger of the Sikh masses due to Bargari sacrilege and 2017 assembly elections were coming closer.
Though the panel constituted by the Akal Takht Sahib to probe the missing saroops’ matter of which this incident is the most important portion, failed to establish that the damage was massive, it found that the gurdwara body functionaries committed many wrongs in relation to this unfortunate incident. Not expressing remorse for it was one of them.
Keeping in view of this, the highest Sikh temporal seat on September 18 asked the SGPC office bearers and entire executive committee to hold two Akhand Paths for repenting this incident—one at Gurdwara Ramsar Sahib and other is at Akal Takht Sahib—they appeared before it to seek forgiveness for being negligent in checking the misappropriation that led to 328 saroops going missing.
The gurdwara body was also asked to clean the heritage street leading to Sri Harmandar Sahib from Gurdwara Saragarhi Sahib to the main entrance of the supreme Sikh shrine for three days during Akhand Path at Takht Sahib. It was a religious punishment awarded by Panj Singh Sahiban (Five Sikh clergymen) from Takht Sahib.
Today, the SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal along with his colleagues was present on Akhand Path. He said the Akhand Path at Takht Sahib will be initiated on October 7.
